Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Boy review

Vintage-sounding delay worth repeating

Our Verdict

Boy, is this good. Huge scope for experimentation and a great core sound.

Pros

Great sounds. Flexible.

Cons

Has fierce competition.

Electro-Harmonix has unleashed a trio of Memory Man derivatives recently, and the Deluxe Memory Boy offers some flexible updated features. It has the largest spec of the series, followed by the Memory Boy and Memory Toy pedals.

If you find complex specs rather daunting, you'll be glad to hear that EHX has done a great job of making the Memory Boy's more powerful features easy to use. The sub divisions let you dial in Edge-style delays quickly, and the modulation circuit applies chorusing to your delay sound. You can select triangle-wave for a more retro sound or square for a more immediate modern sound.

Want more? Hook up an expression pedal for hands-free control - this is particularly useful for creating huge feedback swells that remain controlled.

By using the effects loop, you can chain in some other pedals to just 'effect' the repeated sounds. We put a wah pedal in the chain for some filtered delay effects, but experimenting with different pedals here can yield some truly original results.

The Deluxe Memory Boy has all the features you could need from an analogue delay pedal, and then some. If you just want a straight echo effect with no added frills, you could save yourself some cash and go for the Memory Toy instead. However, the amount of experimentation and control that's on offer from the Deluxe Memory Boy means that you can really get stuck in. We love it.